July 2015

July 31, 2015

Residential Credit Solutions has agreed to pay $1.5 million in restitution to victims for blocking consumers’ attempts to save their homes from foreclosure.

It failed to honor modifications for loans transferred from other servicers, treated consumers as if they were in default when they weren’t, sent consumers escrow statements falsely claiming they were due a refund, and forced consumers to waive their rights in order to get a repayment plan, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday.

Residential Credit Solutions also will pay a $100,000 penalty for its illegal actions.

July 30, 2015

My parents used to talk about “going to the poorhouse.” I seemed when their parents were growing up, poor people were actually taken to poor farms or buildings that were part of a prison or public institution. If they were able bodied, they were required to work.

My parents were spared poverty due to Medicare and Social Security.

When Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law on July 30, 1965, about half of Americans 65 and older had no health insurance.

In the first six months, more than 2.5 million Americans benefitted from Medicare-covered hospital care. Fifty years later, 55.2 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare.

Medicaid, a state and federally funded program that offers health coverage to low-income Americans, was also signed into law on July 30, 1965.

In a proclamation, Pres. Barack Obama said:

Medicare and Medicaid did not just make our country better; they reaffirmed its greatness and established a legacy that we must carry forward today. We must recognize that this work, though begun a half-century ago and continued over the decades that have followed, is not yet complete. For too many, quality, affordable health care is still out of reach – and we must recommit to finishing this important task.

Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law on Aug. 14, 1935. I’ll be writing about Social Security on its upcoming 70th Anniversary.

Signed 25 years ago this month, the Americans With Disabilities Act is helping millions of Americans lead healthier, more productive lives.

The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, telecommunications, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

Visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s ADA 25th Anniversary page to learn about how the ADA has impacted workers and jobseekers with disabilities. The page includes a disability employment timeline and stories about workers with disabilities. People can also add their own stories by filling in the form at the end of the page.

July 29, 2015

San Antonio has the highest credit card debt burden in the nation and San Francisco has the lowest, according to a CreditCards.com study.

Texas ranked poorly – three of the five highest debt burdens – and the Northeast fared well – five of the seven lowest debt burdens.

The study compared the average credit card debt in the 25 largest U.S. metro areas with each area’s median income. It assumed that 15 percent of median income would go towards credit card debt each month.

July 26, 2015

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has acknowledged violations of federal requirements to repair vehicles with safety defects. It will be subject to federal oversight, buy back some defective vehicles from owners, and pay a $105 million penalty, the largest ever imposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The enforcement action comes after a July 2 public hearing at which NHTSA outlined problems with how Fiat Chrysler carried out 23 vehicle safety recalls covering more than 11 million defective vehicles. Fiat Chrysler has since admitted to violating federal law in three areas: effective and timely recall remedies, notification to vehicle owners and dealers, and notifications to NHTSA.

“Today’s action holds Fiat Chrysler accountable for its past failures, pushes them to get unsafe vehicles repaired or off the roads, and takes concrete steps to keep Americans safer going forward,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Sunday.

July 24, 2015

Because of congressional restrictions on the government’s ability to negotiate with the pharmaceutical industry, Medicare Part D drug prices are significantly higher than those in either Medicaid or the Veterans Health Administration and 30 other countries, a study by Carleton University and Public Citizen finds.

Twenty seven of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries are able to purchase the medications studied from manufacturers at less than 50 percent of the purchase price in the United States.

In a letter sent to Congress Thursday, the authors of the study called for a House-Senate committee to be formed to draft legislation that would lower Medicare Part D prices to those of Medicaid or the VHA. Doing so could save Medicare Part D between $15.2 billion and $16 billion a year and reduce the number of people who don’t fill their prescriptions for financial reasons.

July 22, 2015

Discover Bank and its affiliates are being fined for illegal private student loan servicing practices and are also being required to refund money to consumers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that Discover overstated the minimum amounts due on billing statements and denied consumers information they needed to receive federal income tax benefits. The company also engaged in illegal debt collection tactics, including calling consumers early in the morning and late at night.

The bureau’s order requires Discover to refund $16 million to consumers, pay a $2.5 million penalty, and improve its billing, student loan interest reporting, and collection practices.

July 20, 2015

Whether it’s the summer havoc of grandkids, a new home, how to look at your ancestors’ history, or stronger painkiller warnings, baby boomer bloggers are writing about changes in life.

Everyone looks forward to summer, when life is supposed to slow down, at least temporarily, so we can enjoy the season, whether relaxing at home or at a favorite vacation spot. Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting is experiencing a seesaw of a summer, at times calm and other days chaotic. Read about a summer day in the life of a retiree and a summer day in the life of a Grandma in “Summer Times Two.”

Federal and state agencies are investigating two separate outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis infections linked to raw, frozen, stuffed chicken entrees. The two outbreaks are caused by different strains of Salmonella Enteritidis.

On July 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert due to concerns about illnesses caused by Salmonella that may be associated with frozen chicken products.

On July 2, Barber Foods recalled about 58,320 pounds of frozen, raw, stuffed chicken items that may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis. The company issued an expanded recall of about 1.7 million pounds of these chicken products on July 12, 2015. On July 13, Omaha Steaks issued a recall of stuffed chicken breast entrees that may be contaminated with Salmonella.